Elena Brower and Amy Ippoliti first met when they were young yoga students studying to become teachers themselves. Now, they’re leading and mentoring the next generation of students and teachers. We caught up with the yoginis as they sat in Brower’s New York City living room to talk about lineage, mentorship, and what they agree is the key to strong leadership: studentship.
Elena Brower answers her mobile phone excitedly when I call. Sure, the busy New York City–based yoga teacher, life coach, and businesswoman is eager to talk about topics she’s passionate about—leadership, mentorship, and studentship—but she seems downright thrilled to announce on speakerphone that her dear friend, Amy Ippoliti, a Boulder, Colorado–based yoga teacher, is sitting right next to her.
Brower and Ippoliti go back 20 years, when they met as students of Cyndi Lee. Both would go on to study with John Friend, the founder of Anusara Yoga whose school crumbled in 2012 after allegations of unethical and illegal behavior. (They each turned in their Anusara certifications soon thereafter.) The pair leaned on each other after publicly denouncing their teacher’s behavior and as they figured out how to keep their lineage in mind while they struck out on their own.
“I saw it as an opportunity for all of us to go and do what it is that we were always meant to be doing,” says Brower, “which was to teach the finest of what we’d been taught and to lead by example. Even though we couldn’t go forward in the paradigm we had known at that point, I think we paved new paths for ourselves, elegantly. Each of us took what resonated with us about the [Anusara] methodology and the heart space in which we were held for a long time, and we walked forward with it.”
“It’s true,” adds Ippoliti. “We evolved the teachings by bringing what was valuable and infusing our own individual work.”
THE ART OF STUDENTSHIP
Denne historien er fra January - February 2019-utgaven av Yoga Journal.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra January - February 2019-utgaven av Yoga Journal.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Learning to Hear the Voice of Self-Care
How to discern what really matters.
Inclusive Yoga for All
A Down syndrome diagnosis set this family on a path to make yoga accessible to everyone.
For the Joy of Practice
Doing yoga without attachment to the outcome can bring unexpected gifts.
Be Kind to Your Spine
Your vertebral column is a series of complex, interconnecting parts that support your every movement. Here's how to keep it safe.
A Skeptic of Chakra Balancing
The experience helped me make peace with things that can't be explained.
Are We Having Fun Yet?
Bring play back into your practice with three styles of yoga that can get you out of your head and bring a smile to your face.
12 Ways to Use Blocks You've Probably Never Tried Before
The beauty of blocks? They not only meet you where you are in your practice, they take you beyond where you ever thought you could go.
THE SCIENCE OF AWE
THOSE MOMENTS IN LIFE THAT STOP YOU IN YOUR TRACKS IN ASTONISHMENT? RESEARCH SAYS EXPERIENCING MORE OF THEM CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE.
What Your Doshas Say About Your Dharma
Ayurveda can explain so much more than what's out of balance.
The Future of Yoga
Yoga has been evolving for thousands of yearsfrom a mind-and-body spiritual practice to a billion-dollar "lifestyle" practice. What's next? We asked futurists, teachers, and thinkers what to expect in the next decade and beyond.